


Hidden Truth

by Minunlike



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Community: badbadbathhouse, Conversations, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-06
Updated: 2012-02-06
Packaged: 2017-10-30 17:31:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/334313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minunlike/pseuds/Minunlike
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is never easy to accept yourself. That's why Souji Seta is there to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Liquor Store

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt from the Persona 4 Kink Meme: _The reason everyone accepts their shadow so quickly... ...is because Souji gives them a little pep talk while they're unconscious. Y'know, like he enters their mind or something._

The room you're in is an empty one. At least, it's almost empty. The only ones here are you, your new best friend, and the personification of your new best friend's deepest, darkest secrets.

The golden-eyed shadow sneers. "Admit it. You can't stand living out here." 

His counterpart shakes his head furiously. "No, that's not what I think at all!"

You watch as the two identical beings argue back and forth. Neither of them seem to notice your presence.

"Look, will you just _shut the hell up?_ " the boy finally screams, hoping his shadow will listen.

Instead, the shadow smirks. "Why should I? All I'm doing is saying out loud what you've been thinking for a long time." It walks closer to him, staring him square in the eyes. "Am I wrong?"

He can't speak. He only stutters as he desperately searches for a response. 

Suddenly, as he nervously looks around the room, his eyes fall on you. He looks surprised to see you. The shadow, however, looks amused.

"Well, look who's here!"

Your friend looks to his shadow, then back to you. Weakly, he points to the shadow, shaking his head.

"This guy... I-I'm not like that, partner..."

The shadow frowns at him. "Dude, are you seriously trying to save face in front of him when he's probably seen everything?"

He is silent.

The shadow shrugs. "Not like it matters anyway. You're just gonna ditch him as soon as he starts boring you anyway, so why should you care what he thinks of you?"

He yells back in frustration. "Shut up, shut _up!_ "

You walk over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Stop it. That isn't going to solve anything."

He whirls around in surprise. Suddenly, his voice takes on a sad, child-like tone. "B-but he keeps saying-"

"And that's fine," you interrupt. "People think like that all the time, even if they don't say it out loud. You're not the only one."

He looks like he wants to protest, but he doesn't.

"To tell you the truth...when I first met you, I really couldn't stand you," you say matter-of-factly. "I thought you were just some rude, clumsy kid." The hurt he feels from that comment is evident in his expression. "And for a while, I thought this place would be boring too. I really hated the thought of staying here for an entire year." 

You smile. 

"But you know what? After a while, it all really started to grow on me," you continue. "And I know that over time, it'll do the same for you."

He only stares at you in stunned silence.

"And besides," you say with a hint of playfulness, "I may seem boring now, but trust me, my year in Inaba has barely even started."

He begins to speak hesitantly. "Partner..."

You stare at him expectantly.

He smiles. "Thanks."

You smile back. "You're welcome."

Suddenly, the area begins to grow warped and distorted. It looks like he's waking up now.

You keep smiling as the room implodes around you. 

Your job is done.


	2. Castle

You stand at the door of a luxurious throne room. At the foot of the stairs, you see the form of the innkeeper's daughter. She is kneeling on the ground, and her back is to you. Looking down on her from the top of the stairs is a beautiful princess. A princess that is made up of secrets and hidden truths.

They are talking to each other, but you can't hear them from this distance. You step away from the door and toward the stairs.

The girl straightens up as she hears your footsteps. She turns her head to look at you.

"Seta-kun!" she gasps in surprise. Then, her expression shifts to an apologetic one. "I'm sorry about all this..."

The princess squeals in delight. "Oooh, who's _this_ then?"

You move closer to the girl. "You don't have to worry anymore. I'm here to get you out."

The girl looks down at the floor in embarassment and shame. 

"Aww, you came all this way just to see little old me? That's so _sweet!_ " The princess exclaims, her voice dripping with saccharine. "C'mere, let me get a better look at you."

She descends the stairs so that she is standing right in front of you. Her golden eyes scan you up and down.

"Yes, so sweet. And handsome, too!" she says approvingly. "You'll be a much better prince than Chie _ever_ was."

At this, the girl's head snaps up and she lets out a gasp of shock. The princess glances disdainfully at her before returning her attention to you.

You smile. "Sure, I'll be your prince."

The girl looks up at you in disbelief.

"Oh, _prince!_ " the princess squeals, wrapping her arms around you. "You'll take me away from here, won't you? To a land far, far away?"

"No," you reply. "I won't do that."

The princess hastily pulls away from you. "What? Why _**not?**_ " she yells, stomping her foot in anger. "You're supposed to be my prince! You're supposed to protect me!"

"I'll protect you," you say, still smiling. "But I'm not taking you anywhere."

The princess scowls at you.

"I'll help you if you need it, but in the end, you're in charge of your own future. Even if you're forced into situations you don't like, how you handle them is up to you."

The princess's expression softens slightly. She folds her arms and pouts, but says nothing more.

"You see, you don't really need anyone to protect you. You can do that on your own," you continue. "And who knows? Somewhere along the way, it might be you who's doing the protecting."

You turn to the girl, who is no longer looking down at the floor. She still seems somewhat embarassed, but your words seem to have affected her.

You look down at her. 

"Are you all right?"

She looks up at you with that apologetic expression. "Seta-kun, I-"

You hold up a hand to silence her. "It's all right. None of this is your fault, so don't worry."

She doesn't reply. You kneel down so that the two of you are at eye level.

"Do you think you're ready to accept yourself now?"

She looks hesitant, but slowly nods.

"Excellent," you say, extending a hand to her. "Shall we go then?"

She takes your hand, and there's an expression of gratitude on her face. "Yes, let's."

The two of you walk hand in hand as everything melts into nothingness. As you walk away, the princess waves to you.

"Goodbye, prince! Just make sure you stay with me forever and ever, okay?"


	3. Bathhouse

Steam clouds your vision as you stare at the back of the tough punk who was trapped here. He is arguing defiantly with his other self.

"I ain't listenin' to you!"

His shadow, who is wearing nothing more than a fundoshi, is pleading with him.

"Why can't you just accept me for who I am?"

The punk shouts back. "Because that _ain't_ who I am!"

You approach him as he continues to argue with his shadow. You reach out and tap him on the shoulder. When you touch him, he whirls around with fists raised, ready to attack. He lowers them, however, when he recognizes you.

"You..." he says, looking you over. "What're you doing here?"

You smile at him. "In the real world, I'm fighting your shadow right now."

He gives you a perplexed look. "In the real...what?" 

You go on. "In here, though, I need to get you to stop fighting yourself."

"Fighting my..." he briefly looks back at his shadow, then back to you. "But that ain't me!"

As you look at his shadow, you can see that it seems deeply hurt by what he's saying.

"You don't need to deny yourself like that," you say to him. "You don't have to be embarassed. You just like what you like. So what if it's girly?"

He looks somewhat confused and somewhat offended. "What are you tryin' to say?"

"I'm saying that everyone likes to think in stereotypes," you continue. "But that doesn't mean you have to be what everyone expects."

"Well..." he struggles to find words. "What the hell am I supposed to be, then?"

You smile again. "Just be yourself. That's all you have to do."

He appears to be thinking over what you told him. As your gaze shifts to his shadow, it smiles gratefully and... somewhat lustfully... at you.

Suddenly, he speaks up. "But what about them?" he asks. "They ain't never gonna accept me like this!" 

"Do you really think you need everyone to accept you?" you reply. "Not everyone's going to accept you. That's a fact of life. But plenty of people in this world honestly couldn't care less if you like girly things."

He speaks up again. "But what about that other thing he kept talkin' about? That I... y'know..." He lowers his voice considerably, and there's a blush on his face. "...like... dudes?"

"You can't really help what kind of things interest you," you answer. "People are the same way. You like who you like, and it doesn't really matter who or what they are."

Again, he appears to be in deep thought.

Suddenly, everything begins to fade to white. You move closer to him.

"Are you ready? We have to go back soon."

He looks extremely reluctant at first, but soon agrees. Following your lead, he walks with you through the bathhouse and toward the end of the dream.


	4. Stripclub (First)

Over the loud pounding music blasting throughout the place, you hear the distorted voice of a girl.

"Look at me!" it cries. "Everyone, _look!_ This is who I am!"

The fake idol waves to an invisible crowd, clad in a revealing two-piece swimsuit. The only ones who are actually there are you and the "real" idol, the one and only Kujikawa Rise.

You stare at her as she sits on her knees, desperately pleading for the shadow to stop, only to be answered with amused giggles. As you continue to look at the despondent girl, you wonder how someone like her could ever have dealt with the pressure of being famous.

Suddenly, the shadow snaps at you.

"What are you staring at _her_ for?" it spits, as if the mere mention of its counterpart puts an awful taste in its mouth. "She's just a big _fake!_ " 

The girl shakes her head, as though trying very hard to wish this situation away. 

"Look at _me,_ " the shadow says sweetly to you, gesturing dramatically toward itself. "I'm the real deal."

"N-No..." the idol cries weakly, shaking her head more vigorously. "Y-You're not..."

The shadow cuts her off. "Oh, you don't believe me?" it asks with another amused giggle. "Okay then, I'm gonna show all of myself to you. That'll prove to you how real I am!"

It saunters towards the pole and turns to you, fingering the straps of its bra. "I hope you're ready for this."

You watch as the shadow makes good on its promise, slowly and deliberately removing its swimsuit. You grow mildly disturbed as each and every part of it, of Kujikawa Rise, is revealed to you.

Finally, the display ends, and the shadow puts its swimsuit back on.

You look back to the girl. Her eyes are closed, her hands over her ears, and her head bent. 

You rush over to her. Hearing your footsteps, she looks up at you. She looks absolutely mortified, and tears are forming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I...I-I never meant for anyone... t-to see that..." She tries to say something more, but anything that could be considered speech is lost as she breaks down into sobs.

You put your hand on her back and stay next to her until she composes herself. After she's done, she straightens up and turns to face you.

"Well... I guess now you know I'm not the cheery girl you see in all the magazines," she says, wearing a pained smile on her face.

"Sure you are," you reply. "You see, you _are_ Risette. But you're also Kujikawa Rise. And not just one Rise, either."

She looks at you strangely as you explain.

"Take myself, for example. There are so many Soujis that I can't even count them all," you say, laughing softly. "My uncle calls me somewhat of a nuisance, my best friend calls me a reliable partner, my teacher calls me a slacker, my cousin calls me her strong Big Bro...and they're all right."

She looks down at the ground for a moment. "I... never really thought of it like that before..."

"Does it make sense to you now?" you ask.

After a while, she looks back up at you. "Yeah... it kinda does," she says. There's a small smile on her face, one that is free of the pain you saw earlier.

"Good," you say, returning her smile. "I'm glad."

You offer her your hand, and she takes it gratefully. 

As everything fades, you swear you see her shadow gazing longingly at you...


	5. Stripclub (Second)

As the pounding of the bass resumes, you see two bears in front of you. One of them, the one you've come to know, resembles an adorable, cheerful mascot. 

The other, however, appears as a twisted and horrible creature.

"What meaning does the truth hold for you?"

The bear looks at his shadowy counterpart. His normally bright, happy self is lost, and he now seems fearful and uncertain.

"I...I still don't know what you're saying..."

The shadow continues its speech, its piercing stare not faltering for a moment.

"Even if you do manage to find your supposed 'truth', what then? Will you be satisfied? Or will you spend the rest of your days wishing you had remained ignorant?"

The bear seems to be at a total loss for words.

You walk toward the two. Upon noticing your arrival, the bear appears to perk up considerably. His shadow, on the other hand, remains stoic.

"Sensei, you're here!" the bear squeaks. You nod, causing him to brighten up even more.

Then, the shadow's gaze shifts from the bear to you.

"Yes...he's here to feed your delusions."

The bear's cheerful self is lost once again upon hearing the shadow's words. "W-What do you mean?"

"How do you know that he is here for you?" the shadow continues. "How do you know that he is not here merely because it is convenient for him?"

The bear looks to you, eyes pleading for you to give an answer.

"You don't know," the shadow states simply. "And you can never know."

You look to the shadow, then back to the bear, who is still searching you desperately for any sign of comfort. You walk over to the distraught bear.

"He's right," you finally say. "The truth isn't that easy to find. But you know, sometimes knowing the truth won't help you at all. Sometimes, it just makes things worse. And other times, it's just irrelevant."

He appears to ponder what you've said. 

"You can choose whether or not to accept this as truth," you say, holding your hand out to him, "but I'm telling you right now that you're one of my best friends, and I'm going to help you in any way I can."

These words seem to strike a chord, as the bear's eyes begin to fill with tears. "Oh, Sensei..."

You let out a gasp of mild surprise as he knocks you down to the ground in a big bear hug.

"Yes! Sensei will always be my best friend!"

The two of you stand up, and you notice that the shadow has been watching you. 

"Do you have anything to say?" you ask it. It merely turns away.

"If you are content to live in a world of falsehoods and deceptions..." it replies, "...then it is pointless for me to intervene any further." Having said this, the shadow falls silent.

As everything begins to fade once again, you turn to the bear, and he looks at you admiringly.

"Thanks so much... for everything, Sensei!"

You smile and ruffle the fur on his head. "Think nothing of it."


	6. Game

"You...You stay the hell away from me!" the boy shouts, backing slowly away from you. "I'll kill you, I swear!"

You try to move closer to him, but he keeps backing away.

"Who are you?" he shouts again, giving you a look of fearful apprehension. "What the hell do you want from me?"

You hold your hands out in front of you to show that you mean no harm. "It's all right, I just want to talk to you." 

"I could do it!" he yells, ignoring you. "I could do it right now if I wanted to!"

You smile at him. "Then why don't you?"

That seems to set him off. In a second, he's coming at you, throwing punches left and right, and you make a half-hearted attempt to shield yourself from them. They hit hard enough to cause bruising, but definitely not hard enough to kill. 

He steps back, panting heavily from the exertion. You stand there, still smiling.

"You won't kill me."

In an instant, you're pinned to the wall. His face is right in front of yours, and his hands are around your neck. 

"Oh, I'll kill you," he says, his grip tightening. "And when I do, you're not gonna be the center of attention anymore. It's gonna be me."

His grip on your neck is strong enough to hurt a bit, but not enough to block air flow.

"You hear me? You're not gonna be the one in the spotlight anymore! Not you, not Morooka, and not those other little whores! I'm gonna be the one everyone's thinking about! They'll be all over me when they hear that I killed all those people! No one's gonna ignore me anymore!" 

"Is that...what this is about?" you manage to ask, the pressure on your neck making it hard to speak.

He ignores your question. "You hate me now, don't you? I bet you wanna kick my ass now, huh? I bet you hate my guts!"

You only stare at him as he grows more and more hysterical.

"You wanna kill me, don't you? Go ahead! And when you do, even more people are gonna hear about me! _So come on, what are you waiting for?_ "

When he stops talking, you answer him quietly.

"...I'm sorry."

He gives you a confused look.

"I never meant to ignore you...If you had said something, I would have been glad to hang out with you..." You pause, remembering your first encounter with him. "...and I'm sure Yukiko never meant to ignore you either..." 

"I don't give a _damn_ about her!" he yells, smashing your head against the wall. "She's just a frigid bitch, and she can go fuck herself for all I care!"

You're a little dizzy from the impact, but you can still speak.

"You were wrong...You think you're nothing, but you're not..."

He pauses. "What the hell are you talking about?"

You smile, and you pull him close to you. Startled, he lets go of your neck. You're not concerned with the danger this action entails. Any physical damage you suffer is inconsequential here.

"What you did can't be undone, but I want you to know..."

You rest your chin on his shoulder.

"...that you wouldn't have been completely forgotten." 

You fully expect him to try and tear your throat out, but he doesn't. Instead, he just dissolves into something that sounds like he's simultaneously laughing and crying.

And as you look forward, you see his shadow behind him, so silent and still that it may as well not even be there at all.

The fading comes early this time. It seems like you weren't able to help him after all. 

You watch the 8-bit clouds roll by as you wait for the dream to end. And you think to yourself: _It's okay._

_You did the best you could._


	7. Laboratory

"No, no! Please don't leave! Please!"

The childlike shadow pleads with its counterpart as he (or rather, she, as you've recently learned) walks away from it.

She stops, but does not turn around. "I'm sorry, but I refuse to entertain your outlandish claims any longer."

"No, I don't wanna be alooooooone!" the shadow wails, after which it begins sobbing uncontrollably. The display is so pathetic that even she cannot ignore it, and she turns back to face it.

"Such a child..." you hear her mutter to herself. "How could anyone possibly imply that we're in any way identical...?"

Suddenly, the shadow's booming voice fills the room.

"Because we _are!_ "

She jumps back, startled at the ferocity with which it speaks those words.

"I..." She falters for a moment. "...I don't know how you got such a ridiculous idea in your head."

The shadow answers, its voice loud and imposing. "It's no mere 'idea'. It's the truth, that I am you and you are me."

She finds herself at a loss for words. 

"What I said previously... Those were no 'ideas'. You see, the truth of the matter is that you will always be seen as nothing more than a child. You want to seem strong and mature, but you only end up making your immaturity all the more apparent. Your refusal to accept my claims is all I need to confirm that. You're even willing to pretend to be male, if only it will make others see you as an asset-"

" _Enough!_ " she shouts, her voice almost as loud as the shadow's. "I refuse to listen to any more of this!"

With that, she begins to storm out of the room. In an instant, her shadow reverts to its childlike, innocent disposition.

"No, no, don't leave me here all alone...!"

As you look to the two of them, you figure that now is as good a time to intervene as any.

You catch up to the detective and lightly grab her by the arm. She turns around, seeming mildly surprised that you are there.

"Walking away isn't going to help you at all," you tell her.

She looks somewhat annoyed by your input. "There's no reason for me to stay here."

She tries to move past you, but you block her with your arm.

"Move aside," she says through clenched teeth.

You shake your head. "I can't do that. Not until you've accepted yourself, at least."

You can see that she's starting to become really agitated really fast.

"I've already told you, that... _thing_ and I are in no way related."

"You know, you're one of the strongest people I've ever met," you tell her.

She seems bewildered by your sudden off-hand comment. 

"But the thing is," you continue, "no one can be that strong all the time, no matter how much they want to."

Her agitation seems to fade away as you continue.

"And no matter how strong you are, there will always be people who only look on the surface. When those people see you, all they will see is a child."

The two of you turn to look at the despondent shadow who is still crying behind you. You then turn back to her.

"But that doesn't mean you have to pretend to be someone you're not just to gain their approval."

As she considers your words, you wait anxiously, hoping that you will not run out of time again. She appears to think long and hard before finally responding. 

"I...suppose you have a point." she says hesitantly. 

"Please..." You hold out a hand to her. "Let us help you."

She looks at your outstretched hand for a while, unsure if she should take it.

"All...all right," she replies, taking your hand. You breathe a sigh of relief.

"Are you ready to accept yourself now?"

"Yes," she says, nodding. "I will not lie to myself anymore."

You smile. "That's good."

As the fading comes, you lead her out of the room.

And as you listen, you notice that the shadow is not crying anymore.


End file.
